


give and take

by sunandstxrs



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: A little?, M/M, Paralogue: Black Market Scheme, angsty, balthleth, canon? idk her, idk lmao but., its a bit violent, not worse than the games themselves but it does go a little bit into detail
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:41:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26314336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunandstxrs/pseuds/sunandstxrs
Summary: A rewrite of the Black Market Scheme paralogue featuring Balthleth. Byleth doesn't know what's going on, neither does Balthus, it's great. Everything's fine.
Relationships: Balthazar von Adalbrecht | Balthus von Albrecht/My Unit | Byleth
Kudos: 9





	give and take

**Author's Note:**

> hi! this is a bit shit, I'm not going to lie! i just banged this out in about two hours or so and i haven't edited it but you know. anyway! i love balthus and mbyleth together and i Will fill this tag myself if i have to. constructive criticism is always welcome and appreciated and thank you for reading mwah!!!

From the beginning, Byleth could tell that this was a load of shit. He was almost offended that Balthus thought he was stupid enough to believe his cover story. Sure, Byleth wasn’t the most brilliant guy out there, but expecting him to really believe that Hapi had just accidentally been taken to Enbarr to be sold on the black market? Pitiful.

“So, you in, pal?” Balthus rubbed the back of his neck and Byleth swore he could see the tips of his ears turning red. 

“Yes, I’m in.” He replied easily.

“Great, let’s get going!”

Despite this clearly being the world’s most flimsy cover story, Byleth knew that there was no way Balthus was just going to come out and ask for help with whatever was going on. He wasn’t one to rely on others if he could help it. That much had been clear in the short time they knew each other. So he knew that if Balthus was going to let him help, he had to pretend he actually fell for his story. 

So despite every instinct screaming at him that this was a terrible idea, Byleth and his merry band of students made their way to Enbarr. 

Byleth absolutely hated when he was right about things going bad.

First, they had been attacked when everyone had been spread out. They’d all been split up to “look” for Hapi and of course they had only managed to get a few words in before thieves descended upon them from out of the shadows. He’d already run ahead to start taking care of them before they could get too close to his students when he heard Balthus call to him from the other side of the battlefield.

“If you see anyone with something that looks like a Hero’s Relic- grab it! You already know this, but it would get real bad real quick if we let them run wild with that thing.”

Flashes of Miklan Gautier turning into a Demonic Beast raced through Byleth’s mind. This entire situation was just getting better and better.

_“I don’t know what the hell you got yourself into this time Baltie, but a fucking Hero’s Relic? Great. Awesome. Why and how was there a Hero’s Relic on the black market anyway?” Byleth thought to himself._

Hapi shouted something similar, but she was quickly drowned out by the sounds of battle. He had to focus, and protect his students before this could get worse.  
He took stock of where everyone had gone to search, and formed a plan based on that.

He turned back. “Balthus, Hapi! Regroup with everyone else and work your way to the center of the city when you do! It seems like most of the activity is centered there. I’ll go first and try to clear it so it’s safe for you!”

“Leave it to us, Chatterbox.”

They took off in the opposite direction, Balthus throwing himself into the thick of it and giving Hapi the chance to cover his flanks. Making sure that there weren’t too many dangers ahead for them to make it, Byleth turned and made his way forward. Yuri and Balthus both told him that he worried too much about them. He knew that his students were more than capable, the Ashen Wolves in particular, but it was in his nature. 

Remembering his recent encounter with Baltie himself, he knew he wasn’t the only one that felt that way. His words echoed in his head again.

_“Long story short… You should keep your distance from me. If that assassin’s dagger took you out, everyone here would fall to pieces. How would I explain that?”_

That annoyed the hell out of By. He knew Balthus had good intentions, but he was tired of others trying to make decisions for him. Not to mention, he was more than capable of defending himself. 

As he parried a blow and in turn took down the opponent he was currently facing, the soft thwack of an arrow being shot fell on his ears.

_Shit. How did I miss-_

Before he could finish his thought, said arrow buried itself in his side. He let out a muffled cry of pain. Taking a deep breath, he ripped it out and sealed the wound with a quick heal spell. His healing was shoddy at best, but it would have to do for now. 

He located the sniper, and made quick work of them with the Sword of the Creator. He didn’t use it often, but today was an exception for many things. 

Falling back into his rhythm, he surged onward. However, his mind couldn’t help but wander.

He didn’t know what to call his relationship with Balthus. From the get go, he had been more comfortable with the Ashen Wolves than his class of students. They were a bit more rough around the edges, just like the mercenaries he grew up with. So he found himself in Abyss more often than not during his free time, seeing it as a place where he could relax. Garreg Mach wasn’t unfriendly to him- quite the opposite- but it was so overwhelming at times. Unbeknownst to him, Balthus had taken a shine to him immediately. It wasn’t often that he found someone that could hand his ass to him in a fight. And he was damn pretty, to boot. So when Byleth found himself in Abyss, Balthus immediately offered himself as a tour guide (knowing full well the rest of the Wolves were already aware of his little crush and that they weren’t going to let him hear the end of it later). Since then, they had become fast friends.

But it quickly became something more. Balthus wasn’t shy about flirting in the slightest. Granted, it took a minute before Byleth actually realized he was flirting with him. Realized being a generous phrase- they were helping Constance with one of her magical experiments before she snapped and yelled at Balthus to stop flirting with Byleth and to pay attention. The shade of red Byleth turned was rather impressive. Since then, Byleth attempted at flirting back in his own awkward way, and flirting turned to touches and stolen glances and so on. 

But since he had seen Balthus with those assassins, something changed. It was like a switch was flipped. He made excuses to leave whenever Byleth came around, and showed up to class less and less. If he was ever cornered into a conversation with him, it was like they were strangers. 

_“You should keep your distance from me.”_

The words repeated themselves in Byleth’s mind. He shook his head, as if to dispel the memory physically. The battlefield was no place for idle thoughts.

And yet, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. About Balthus. He found himself getting distracted more and more and taking more hits than usual. Sighing, he tried to focus on healing the more distressing of his injuries only to find that he couldn’t summon the magic. Wiping sweat and grime off his forehead, he cursed under his breath. He needed to find his students, and soon. 

He pushed on, eventually finding the cause of the chaos. A noble and two attendants with what he believed to be the Hero’s Relic that Balthus had mentioned earlier. He went to work, only barely dodging the attacks that were thrown his way. 

At first he thought Balthus hadn’t meant it. But as time went on, it was more and more clear that he was going to push Byleth away despite his feelings on the situation. Today was the first time he had actually approached him since the assassin incident had happened. It left Byleth with mixed feelings. On one hand, he was glad to be talking to him again, but on the other, he had no idea what was going on between them. He had even less of an idea on how to approach the subject. 

Bringing one of the attendants down, he rushed towards the noble. Baron Ochs? He didn’t know, he’d only heard one of the attendants yelling to him in the crossfire and he wasn’t sure he’d even heard them correctly. At this point, he was pretty much running on adrenaline alone- he was losing blood, fast. 

The noble started yelling something at him, but Byleth couldn’t hear him over the pounding in his ears. He only knew that he had to get the Hero’s Relic from him, before this turned into something ugly. It was clear that he wasn’t going to give up without a fight, though. With a yell, he began to run, sword raised.

Balthus knew he had fucked up already by asking Byleth for his help. Or, rather, dragging him along with this stupid scheme to try and get Vajra-Mushti back. He couldn’t tell if he had believed his story or not- his face was always just kinda blank. He was trying his hardest to keep away from him, but he knew that he couldn’t get his mother’s relic back without Byleth’s help. But straight out asking for his help after telling him that he should stay away? That was just something he couldn’t do. So, elaborate, stupid scheme it was. 

He had torn through his attackers with ease. Taking down a couple of thugs was as natural as breathing for him at this point. The easy routine of it all helped to calm his nerves about the situation at hand. 

_Dodge, dodge, uppercut and done. On to the next._

There wasn’t any finesse to his movements. Only raw power. These guys were barely making him break a sweat- the only thinking he was doing was paying enough attention to make sure none of them got close to Hapi, and keeping an eye out for the other Golden Deer students. 

One by one, they found their way to each other. He was saving the scrawny one- Ignatz, he thinks- from two brigands when things started to go south. Real fast. 

It takes Yuri multiple shouts to finally get Balthus’ attention. 

“BALTHUS! Balthus, you damn fool, are you even listening! The professor needs us, now! You back him up, I have to find Marianne!” 

_Our healer? Why would he need… No._

Suddenly a screech tore through the air from where Byleth had been heading. Whoever had the relic had turned into a demonic beast, and facing it…

..was Byleth, covered in blood. Alone. 

Hapi and Raphael were rushing towards him as fast as they could, but it was clear that they wouldn’t get there before the beast made its first strike. Balthus’ heart sank. All of his worst fears were coming to fruition. 

Not wasting another second, his feet started beating the pavement. He had to get to Byleth before it was too late. He wasn’t the greatest healer, but it would have to be enough until Marianne arrived.

Hapi started slinging spells to cover Raphael as he charged, gauntlets glinting in the sun. The beast shrugged them off as if they were nothing, and focused only on Byleth. He dodged the first attack and raised the Sword of the Creator. He pointed it directly at the beast as if to challenge it. Before anyone could blink, he threw it over his shoulder and activated the whip.

Balthus couldn’t help but think about how otherworldly and powerful Byleth looked in battle, especially when he wielded the Sword of the Creator. He decimated his enemies with the grace of a god- and the color of blood contrasted so beautifully with the paleness of his skin. 

The beast began to charge at Byleth once again. Time seemed to slow. As it dove, he threw the whip and circled it around its throat. With a yell, he pulled down on the handle and launched himself forward in the next motion. Unsheathing his dagger, he soared towards the beast as it tried to free itself from the shackles of the sword. 

It didn’t even notice Byleth coming until his dagger had plunged into its neck. Neither beast nor man moved as time began to move at its normal pace.

“Professor! Hold on! I can catch you!” Raphael yelled.

“Byleth, I’ll heal you! Just stay with us, yeah?” Balthus called in turn. He was almost to him..

Wrenching his dagger free, the professor started falling from his lofty position atop of the demonic beast’s corpse. The form of the demonic beast started to turn to ash as he did so, revealing the body of the man who had taken the relic.

If it was possible, Balthus started running faster. He didn’t have time to scream. His lungs were burning, and he thought his legs might give out if he had to keep going. But none of that mattered. He had to get to Byleth. He had to. 

It felt like eons before Byleth made it to the ground. He somehow landed on his feet, only slightly shaky. He straightened himself out, spitting blood and wiping the hair out of his face again. 

“Byleth! Byleth, what were you thinking taking on that thing all by yourself! You almost got yourself killed, you’re barely even standing now!” Balthus shouted, hands shaking as he focused on bringing forth his healing magic. 

“I am perfectly fine, Balthus.” Byleth replied, before collapsing. 

Balthus barely caught him. He almost wanted to cry, seeing the true extent of his injuries. He set to work healing him, hoping that it would be enough until Marianne arrived.

When Byleth woke, it was in the infirmary back at Garreg Mach. He took a minute to recount what had happened, before trying to get out of bed to go check on his students.

“Not sure where you’re going, pal.” 

Balthus was sitting next to his bedside, looking like shit.

“You look like shit, Balthus. I wanted to check on my students.” 

“Great way to greet someone who saved your life. You’re not looking so great either, By. They’re fine. Get back in bed.” 

Byleth chose to ignore that last request, despite the pain he was currently in. 

“How long have I been out?”

“For a day and a half.”

“I see. May I ask why you’re here? And why do you sound like you’re absolutely furious?”

“Someone had to make sure you were gonna wake up. Might as well be me. Manuela had class to teach and other people to take care of. As for the last question, that would be because I am.”

“Right. Thank you. Why would that be?”

Balthus snorted.

“You don’t get it, do you. I was going to wait until you were feeling at least a little better, but I suppose I can’t dodge that kind of a question.”

Byleth looked confused, but nodded for him to continue.

“You risked your life, after I told you to stay away from me, because it could kill you. Granted, it wasn’t an assassin we were dealing with, but it still would have been my fault if you had died. If it wasn’t for Marianne, I don’t know if you’d still be alive. It’s like you didn’t even listen to a word I said to you.”

“Balthus.”

“Byleth.”

“Don’t you think I’m tired of people making my decisions for me?”

Balthus’ head snapped up to make eye contact with Byleth.

“What?”

“Ever since I got to the monastery, practically everything has been decided for me. My career, my future. My life was turned upside down in one day and I had no say in it. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone were to try and arrange a marriage for me at this point. What I’m trying to say is, I don’t care if being around you is dangerous. I can handle myself. And I don’t want you to make that decision for me, because you’re one of the people I care about most. I’m willing to take risks if it means still being able to be with you.”

With Byleth’s admission, Balthus began to feel a little stupid. He hadn’t meant to come across that way. 

“Byleth… Look, I’m sorry.” 

“I know. It’s okay.”

“But you have to promise not to throw yourself in danger like that! I don’t care if it was to protect your students, or me, or whoever! We can take care of ourselves too. I never want to be scared like that again.”

Now it was Byleth’s turn to feel stupid.

“I… yes. I promise. I won’t do that again. I’m sorry too.”

Satisfied, Balthus nodded to himself.

“Remind me to thank Marianne when you let me leave here.” 

Balthus laughed softly, and pressed a gentle kiss to Byleth’s hand.

“Can do. Now, get some rest.”


End file.
